Smelly from beginning to end.

Today we said goodbye to Dakota. I always said that if I came back as a dog, I would want to come back as Dakota. She has always been full of love and joy, every day of her life she has been happy. She was dopey, and goofy, but I've never met a dog more open-hearted and full out sweet.

 

When we got Dakota from McNeil labs, we went on a journey while the breeder selected the puppy for us based on personality. She would send us pictures of the puppies identified by ribbons. There was one puppy in the litter who looked so dopey, we thought she might actually be mentally challenged. Ryan would say, "As long as we don't get light blue..."



Sure enough, when we got our "match" - Light Blue! That dopey little puppy stole our hearts immediately with her sweetness. We knew she was a little "off" right from the start. As a puppy, her butthole protruded from her body! Just like some people have an innie or an outie bellybutton - well, Dakota had an outie anus. Luckily, she grew around her butt as she got bigger.

She also started life with a particularly strong puppy smell, but that smell never left her. She stayed smelly.


Dakota was always a vocal girl. She would make crazy Chewbacca sounds, talking all the time when she was playing. Especially when she was getting rowdy with Cheyenne. She loved pestering her big sister, and later playing with Aspen. Even Gracie the rescue beagle made a surprising friend in Dakota. For the last year and a half, battle beagle would lay on her back under Dakota's big dome head and kick and punch and play while Dakota made noises and wagged her endlessly wagging tail.



Dakota had a knack for growing things on her body. Extra toes, her chesticle, and countless random lady lumps. After removing one of her lumps, we took the dogs to the beach, and Dakota chewed her stitches out. The emergency vet bill in the OBX cost more than the beach house we had rented that week.

My sweet lumpy happy girl was with us though 6 homes, and I am so happy she got to make it to this home with us. One of the happiest memories I will keep is the joy that this winter's snow gave her. After her back legs and hips started failing, we have been helping her up and down the few stairs to the yard. But, this snowfall gave her some kind of miracle energy, and she bounded madly around the yard like a puppy. See the video in action.

We thought January 2017 was going to be her time when she stopped being able to digest her food. Prescription diet gave us another year and a half with her. Though her weight was dropping, and her joints were getting worse, Ryan and I both worried her joyful demeanor would mean we would never get the sign from her like we did from Cheyenne, the sign telling us it was time to let go.



This week, though, Dakota developed a respiratory infection. She was having trouble breathing, and she looked at me with the eyes that made me finally see. She will be who she is, happy to the end, but this was not a good life for her anymore. I scheduled surgery to have some cysts removed from my wrist, and I developed a respiratory infection this week. I know people will think I am crazy, but I think this is my own body's way of reflecting Dakota's.

So, this morning, we said our goodbyes. Dakota gave Adelaide sweet kisses. I fed her cookies. So many cookies, enough to make up for the last year without treats on her diet. She rested so sweetly, tail wagging, happy.



We imagine Cheyenne welcoming you over the bridge, and we love you both so much.